Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice-President of India, today laid the foundation stone of Kaushal Bhawan, the new office building of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) at Chanakyapuri, in the presence of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Smt Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament from New Delhi.

Imagined as a state-of-the-art structure
with Building Management Systems (BMS) for automatic fault detection and will
be constructed using a composite structure of steel in the super structure and
RCC frame structure with diaphragm walls for earth retention around trees.

The building will comprise three
basements for parking and services and eight floors of modern offices, an
auditorium with capacity to accommodate 250 people, a mini convention centre
with four meeting rooms cum training rooms of capacity for 30 to 60 people along
with pre-function spaces in the ground floor. It will also have a cafeteria,
food court, yoga hall, sports facilities and gymnasiums. The total built up
area proposed is 22,000 sq meters.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice-President of India, said “Ram Rajya is incomplete without Gram Rajya. We must focus on rural empowerment and financial inclusion. Different ministries must work together, especially for skilling in rural areas. Reform, perform and transform should be the mantra everyone should strive for in this journey to make India an even more prosperous economy. I congratulate Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on the shilanyas of the new building. It is an important milestone in the journey to building a skilled India. Today, we are not merely laying the foundation stone of a building called Kaushal Bhawan, we are laying the foundation of a strong, secure and prosperous India. I am confident that the enthusiasm of the youth fuelled with skills and training will take the nation to the zenith of success.”

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said, “Laying of foundation stone of Kaushal Bhawan marks another landmark in the journey our Government undertook four years ago, when the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry was formed. This journey would not have been possible without the support and faith of the youth who participated in the initiatives designed to take them to newer heights”.

It is only fitting that the Hon’ble
Vice-President Shri Venkaiah Naidu is laying the foundation stone for Kaushal
Bhawan, the land for which was allotted when he was Minister of Housing, Urban
Development and Urban Poverty Alleviation. I thank him for his guidance and his
support in laying foundation for a building that will inspire people to work in
a positive environment and with a positive mindset.

To create human resources for the world
through Skill India, we also need to provide right environment for the human
resources in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. I am sure
Skill Bhawan will provide a more positive work environment to our team members
and from here skill related initiatives will be conceived and implemented in
sync with the growing aspirations of a New India”.

The
new permanent building of the MSDE has been designed on five founding
principles:-

Sustainable Architecture: The
4-star griha ratings shall be energy
efficient and use solar energy for common area and exterior lighting. Its water
management strategy shall be based on zero discharge for which a tertiary STP
shall be employed to ensure recycling of water for flushing, air-conditioning
and horticulture.

Contextual Architecture: The building
campus has large trees like banyan and neem, the building design envelopes the
trees and integrates them into one. The big banyan tree will be the defining
element in the entrance experience and shall provide the much-needed cool
microclimate for Delhi’s hot summers. The exterior material palette will use
natural materials like exposed bricks, Delhi quartzite and Dholpur stone to
create an architecture that belongs to Delhi.

Democratic Architecture: Principles
of universal accessibility have been applied and ramps, lifts, tactile flooring,
etc, has been provisioned. To fulfil contemporary aspirations, facilities like
food court, separate gymnasiums, yoga hall, business centre have been
provisioned to create a convenient work place for all. Transparency in the
interior spaces shall be of a higher degree using glass lifts, glazed lift
lobbies and staircases, glazed meeting rooms and glazed official’s cabins to
ensure higher safety and oversight thereby promoting democracy by design.

Cost Effective: The
design shall be cost effective and space efficient to optimize the use of the
built environment.

Safety and Security: In
terms of fire safety, structural safety and digital safety have been inbuilt
into the design by providing a security hold area in the double height entrance
foyer that will have the security bollards and biometrics for access control.